At this moment, Old Bei's greatest hope was that the people on the platform outside knew their predicament and were coming to their rescue.
However, Old Bei knew this was highly unlikely.
Because the people outside were all important figures; they wouldn't care about the lives of mere divers like them.
Moreover, even Old Bei couldn't think of any way they could be rescued.
Even if the important figures outside were kind-hearted, by the time they truly launched a rescue, he and his subordinates would likely already be dead.
"Captain, what do we do now? I'm so scared, I don't want to die."
As time passed, everyone's oxygen tanks were running low. Even the small bottles of oxygen they carried for emergencies had been used.
Even if they used it sparingly, they wouldn't have more than ten minutes left.
And in these ten minutes, they wouldn't have enough time to leave the cave. Moreover, there was a deep lake outside the cave. To leave alive would require a miracle.
"Brothers, I'm sorry, it's all my fault. I shouldn't have brought you in."
Old Bei said with deep remorse and regret.
"Captain, how can this be your fault? We decided to follow you ourselves, you didn't force us."
As soon as Old Bei finished speaking, a team member spoke up.
"That's right, Captain. Even if we all die here today, we won't blame you. This is our bad luck, it has nothing to do with you."
Another team member immediately chimed in with support.
"Captain, if we all die here today, we'll still be your brothers in the next life."
The words of his subordinates moved Old Bei deeply, but it also made him feel even more guilty.
"Brothers, I'm not a qualified captain. I've let you all down. However, we still have time. Even if we die, I will find a way out for you."
"Since we no longer have a chance to get out, we can only continue to move deeper. As long as we can find a place without water, we might still be able to wait for rescue."
After speaking, Old Bei waved his hand and led the way towards the deeper parts of the underwater cave.
Meanwhile, outside, people already knew that the diving team was likely wiped out.
It wasn't that he didn't want to save them, but that he couldn't. Even Ning Beichen, a transcendent like Ling Jue, was not an omnipotent immortal.
To Zhang Jinhong, the death of a team of divers meant little.
Before these divers went into the water, he had already given them sufficient compensation and relocation fees; he had a clear conscience.
Everything done carried risks, especially a high-risk profession like diving.
If they really died, at most, their families would receive appropriate humanitarian compensation.
However, Ning Beichen wasn't sure they were all dead.
The underwater cave environment was complex. While it seemed like a dead end, there might still be space for them to survive.
But even if such a place existed, without timely rescue, they would likely face certain death.
"Old Zhang, I'll go down and take a look. Maybe they can still be saved."
Ning Beichen said.
"Mr. Ning, this is too dangerous. I can hire more divers to explore."
Zhang Jinhong said worriedly.
In his eyes, Ning Beichen's life was far more precious than those divers, and he didn't want Ning Beichen to take such a risk.
"No need. I know what I'm doing. Help me prepare some small oxygen tanks and diving suits, pack them up. I'll take them down with me. If I happen to encounter them alive, maybe I can save their lives."
Ning Beichen said to Zhang Jinhong.
Ning Beichen wasn't exactly a good person, and he didn't pity these divers. However, he had his own moral bottom line. If there was a chance to save them, he would undoubtedly act.
But if it was moral blackmail or if he was expected to be a savior, he had no interest whatsoever.
He controlled Zhou Yu, Ling Jue, and other transcendent beings not for peace, but purely for his own benefit.
"Ling Jue, you come down with me. You two stay here with them. Until we return, do not take any action."
Ning Beichen instructed the two women, Ye Ya'er and Li Wanrong. Although they had cultivation, this was not a fight; it was going into a lake. Even Ning Beichen couldn't guarantee his own safety, let alone theirs.
"Ning Beichen, be careful. If you can't find them, just give up. Staying alive is most important."
Li Wanrong didn't clamor to go. She was a very intelligent woman and knew when to be willful in front of a man and when not to be.
"I will. Don't worry about me. You two take care of yourselves."
Ning Beichen said to her and Ye Ya'er.
Ning Beichen and Ling Jue each carried a large waterproof bag, containing clothes, oxygen, food, power sources, and other necessities.
Without needing any safety ropes, the two of them plunged directly into the lake.
Ling Jue, wanting to show off, flew through the air like an eagle, landing in the center of the lake several hundred meters away.
Ning Beichen, too lazy to bother with him, performed a similar leap, like a fighter jet, and violently plunged into the heart of the lake, creating a tsunami hundreds of meters high.
Neither of them wore diving suits or oxygen masks.
At their level of cultivation, they could already circulate internal energy, equivalent to an infant in the womb. They could easily hold their breath underwater for several hours, even one or two days, without needing any equipment.
Soon, the two of them reached the lakebed and began searching for the underwater cave.
With their speed, it didn't take long for them to find the entrance to the underwater cave. Moreover, they found the red beacon left by the divers here.
However, they did not find any diver corpses, which meant there was still hope.
Ning Beichen did not need to use a walkie-talkie; he directly transmitted his voice to Ling Jue. After entering the cave, they immediately split up to search and investigate.
One was to find the entrance to a blessed land, and the other was to search for the whereabouts of the divers.
Ning Beichen chose a route in the middle of the cave, while Ling Jue took the left route. They agreed to meet at the exit in one hour, regardless of whether they had any findings.
Ling Jue nodded. He naturally wouldn't dare to disobey Ning Beichen's orders.
Outside, Zhang Jinhong and the others were curious why Ling Jue was so subservient to Ning Beichen.
In reality, they didn't know that it wasn't that Ling Jue wanted to be subservient, but that he had no choice. Ning Beichen could cripple his cultivation with a single thought.
Ning Beichen, carrying the waterproof bag, swam into the cave at his fastest speed. However, halfway through, he was ambushed by a large fish.
Ning Beichen had never seen this large fish before, nor did he know that it was precisely because of this fish that Old Bei and the others had encountered their predicament.